Lira Slides to Record Amid Bets Election May Weaken AKP Majority
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The lira fell to a record and Turkish bonds and stocks declined as speculation June elections may diminish the AK Party’s majority added to selling pressure driven by the prospect for higher U.S. interest rates.
The currency lost as much as 1.1 percent to 2.6573 per dollar, bringing this year’s rout to 12 percent, the third-worst performer among 24 emerging-market peers tracked by Bloomberg. Opinion polls in the past three weeks have shown waning support for the AK Party, from which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hails. Yields on two-year government notes climbed for a fifth day to a four-week high of 8.89 percent, while the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index lost 0.9 percent.